The Sheep Heid Inn

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £13 (lunch)
   £13 (evening meal)
• House wine: £8.85 per bottle

• High point: Unique venue, welcoming atmosphere
• Low point: Shame it's not more central
• Food served: Mon–Sat noon–8pm; Sun 12.30–8pm
• Bar open: Mon–Thu 11am–11pm; Fri/Sat 11am–midnight; Sun 12.30–11pm
• Private dining: Up to 50 covers
• Open since: 1360
• Also offers: Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
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Tucked away in Duddingston is Edinburgh's oldest pub, which has been around since 1360. For city dwellers the Sheep Heid Inn is well worth taking the trouble to get to as it's extremely pleasant to while away a few hours among the collected bric-a-brac from centuries gone by. Comfortingly muted lighting and a haphazard stack of board games in the corner give the feeling of being in someone's living room, albeit one with table service. With all these quirky features to recommend it, it's good to see that the Sheep Heid has made just as much effort with its food selection. To start, a home-made crab tartlet comes with a substantial helping of sweet crab meat, while some melted gruyère finishes off this delightful dish. A generous helping of black pudding is topped by discs of melted goat's cheese and complemented by a sweet onion relish. Steamed Scottish mussels come piled high, their natural salty-sweet flavour enhanced by a creamy white wine sauce. Less compelling is the steak pie – cooked in the pub's own Sheep Heid ale – which is sadly let down by overcooked meat and soggy vegetables. An additional dining room is open at the weekends when booking is recommended (particularly for the Sunday roast), and a sizeable beer garden is open from Easter onwards. For those looking for a bit of an energy burst, the Inn also houses the country's oldest surviving skittle alley.